On April 11, the First Presbyterian Church in Mocksville will hold a breakfast to benefit The Dragonfly House Children’s Advocacy Center.

The breakfast will be from 7-10 a.m., with donations benefiting the agency.

The Dragonfly House helps child victims of abuse from birth to 17, making the process less traumatic by using a model which brings all investigators together under one roof at one appointment in the best interest of the child. The center offers ongoing advocacy services, caregiver support, and therapy so the healing can begin. Services are free.

The Dragonfly House served 400 children in 2014.

“April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, so this is a perfect time for the church to choose us,” said Brandi Reagan, executive director of The Dragonfly House. “Awareness can lead to prevention, and we are so thrilled to have the support of First Presbyterian Church and the community.

“Our funding has taken many cuts recently, and our numbers continue to grow. We really rely on these types of community events to support us financially.

“Know that when you support these events or The Dragonfly House, you are directly impacting the lives of children who need our support. Abuse affects all of us, even if we aren’t directly involved. These children depend on us. You will never see their faces and know they are victims, but you can be sure that one in every four girls and one in every six boys are affected.”

In addition to the event, The Dragonfly House is working on the “Make a Change, Break the Cycle” prevention and awareness campaign throughout April.This campaign in April will strive to educate the community on prevention in hopes of making changes and breaking cycles of abuse.

The campaign offers schools, churches or any business a chance to support the effort with change buckets that can be set out for donations for the agency during April. All of the proceeds will directly benefit child mental health treatment for local children.

You can already see several of these posters with change buckets in the windows of businesses on Main Street in Mocksville.

The Dragonfly House hopes to add to the activities next April with a cycling event to tie it all together. Any school, agency or business interested in supporting the campaign by putting out a bucket in April, or joining the planning committee for the cycling event, should contact The Dragonfly House, 753-6155.

“Together we can all help put a stop to child abuse, but we need the community to help,” said Reagan. “You can make a big difference. These children need our help, and together, we can Make a Change and Break the Cycle. Please join us on April 11 at the First Presbyterian Church in Mocksville for a delicious breakfast and help support the work we do to help local child victims of abuse. We appreciate the support of First Presbyterian and the community.”

The Dragonfly House is a National Children’s Alliance Accredited 501-C-3 non-profit agency serving child abuse victims in Davie, Davidson, Yadkin and surrounding counties.

For more information on the organization or Child Abuse Prevention Month, visit www.thedragonflyhouse.com or contact Sheila Smith at 336-753-6155 or sheila@thedragonflyhouse.com. The Dragonfly House is a United Way agency.